Triple-doubles rescinded, Sparks continue run through WNBA

NEW YORK — The WNBA had to take a couple of triple-doubles off the record books during the past 10 days.

There had been only five during the regular season in the 20-year history of the league. It appeared there were two more — one by Brittney Griner and another by Angel McCoughtry. Both stars had the rare feat taken away by the WNBA after the league reviewed the games and discovered stat errors.

Griner had what was the sixth regular season triple-double in WNBA history on July 3 with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks. A statistical review later removed two of the blocks.

On Friday, Angel McCoughtry had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an OT win over Dallas. But by Saturday morning, that too was stricken from the record book as one of her assists in the second quarter was taken away.

The WNBA confirmed to The Associated Press that both stat corrections were accurate.

Even losing the triple-double, McCoughtry helped the Dream rise up The Associated Press WNBA power poll this week back into fourth.

Temeka Johnson still has the last triple-double, garnering 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Seattle Storm in 2014.

With the two stat corrections, there have been four near misses this season over the past few weeks. New York forward Tina Charles fell one rebound short against the Dream. Connecticut guard Jasmine Thomas also missed by one rebound too.

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POWER POLL: Los Angeles, Minnesota and New York have run away from the rest of the league. A look at this week’s WNBA poll:

1. Los Angeles (18-1): The Sparks are two wins short of matching Houston’s 20-1 start, the best start ever to a season. They play at Chicago, Connecticut and Atlanta this week.

2. Minnesota (16-4): The Lynx pulled out of a mini slump, winning two of three this week. In the OT loss to Connecticut, Maya Moore had 38 of her 40 points in the second half and OT. Huge game looming against third place New York on Friday.

3. New York (15-6): The Liberty have won five of the past six and are an impressive 9-2 on the road this season with both losses coming in Los Angeles.

4. Atlanta (11-9): The Dream followed up their six-game skid by winning three straight to get back into fourth in the playoff chase.

5. Indiana (9-11): Stephanie White is looking for more consistent play from her veteran team.

6. Chicago (8-11): Lost tight games to Minnesota and New York, need to find more consistency on defense.

8. Washington (9-11): Will try to get back on track finishing off a five-game road trip. The Mystics have dropped the first three games and visit Phoenix and Seattle this week.

9. Phoenix (8-13): It was a rough week for the Mercury, who dropped three games in seven days. The good news is they have three games before the Olympic break, all at home

10. Seattle (7-13): Storm have dropped four of their last five games. Now play three straight at home.

11. Connecticut (5-14): Followed up consecutive wins with a loss to Atlanta. Sun have busy week ahead with three games.

12. San Antonio (5-15): Kayla McBride’s out for the year with a fracture in her foot. Moriah Jefferson continues to shine in her rookie season.

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the second time this season, Angel McCoughtry earned AP player of the week honors. She helped the Dream go 3-0 by averaging 23.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Atlanta moved back into second place in the Eastern Conference. Other players receiving votes were Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Nneka Ogwumike and Candace Parker.

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MILESTONES: Bill Laimbeer became the seventh coach to win 200 games in the WNBA when New York beat Chicago on Friday night. … Lindsay Whalen became the first player in league history to have 5,000 points, 2,000 assists and 1,500 rebounds in her career when she crossed the scoring plateau last Thursday against Connecticut.

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SAYING GOODBYE TO LJ: The Seattle Storm will retire Lauren Jackson’s number on Friday. Jackson played all 12 of her seasons in the WNBA in Seattle and helped the franchise win titles in 2004 and 2010. The Australian star finished with 6,007 career points, which is seventh most in league history.

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GAME OF THE WEEK: Liberty at Lynx, 8 p.m. ET on Friday night. The last meeting between the second and third place teams in the league. Finishing in the top two in the standings assures a playoff bye until the semifinals this year. The two teams have split their two meetings so far.